This invention relates to benefitting polymeric materials. More particularly, this invention relates to methods for incorporating hydrophilic constituents into silicone polymer materials to provide effectively enhanced hydrophilic polymer materials useful, for example, as lenses. New silicone polymer materials and intraocular lenses (IOLs) made therefrom are also included.
Silicone polymers are quite effective as materials for various ophthalmic devices, such as contact lenses and IOLs. These silicone polymeric materials have very useful physical and optical properties making them advantageous for use in such devices. One property that exists in certain such materials is high hydrophobicity.
Increasing the hydrophilicity of silicone polymer materials can involve providing a hydrophilic component on the surface or surfaces of a lens made from such materials. Such surface coatings tend to be removed after a relatively short period of use. Other approaches to increasing the hydrophilicity of silicone materials can be complex and/or result in an inadequate and/or uncontrolled increase in hydrophilicity.
Clearly, it would be advantageous to provide new methods for incorporating hydrophilic constituents into silicone polymer materials, and new hydrophilic silicone polymer materials and IOLs made therefrom.